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Saw this weekend where a teams coach was stealing pitching signs from other team then would yell to batter what pitch was coming. Kind of bush league or am I wrong.
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I would love to have someone steal my signs... after the first time, their batters would be soooo screwed up and confused we would all be rolling on the floor laughing our "you know what" off.
It's all part of the game... have fun with it.
It's all part of the game... have fun with it.
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where it gets fun is when the batter starts stealing signs and the placement of the catchers mit, sometimes it works great,,,sometimes ya get baited and nailed,
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Have seen that alot in some of the better HS teams, just catch it early and switch it up, My DD was able to steal signs from the coach of the other team when she was up to bat because she notice early on he would use the same specific phrase for individual pitches under the guise of positioning his fielders, he didn't believe her till she went 2 for on him and her team mates started hitting his pitcher after she told them what to listen for.....Yep, this was a frequent State D2 championship team.....
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If you get the first base side, after your coaches have stolen the signs, the girls are informed and are looking right at the sign coach while in the box. I don't think it's bush leauge to steal signs. I do think its stupid to let the other team know you've stolen their signs. I agree with the previous post. If I have a guy stealing my signs PLEASER PLEASE PLEASE be stupid enough to let the whole tournement know by screaming them out. That's when it gets fun! 
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my DD - a catcher - loves it when the other team's dugout start yelling out where she sets up at. Won't name team names but a team that is on run for their league title started yelling out that it was "OUTSIDE, OUTSIDE" because our pitcher was killing them with low outside pitches. My DD called time and talked to the pitcher. 2 pitches later when my DD set up outside and the other dugout starts yelling "OUTSIDE-OUTSIDE" the batter stepped into a waist-high INSIDE pitch! The kicker tho was that the Ump says she did not try to swing when she got hit and gave her 1st base. Good side was that the other team quit yelling OUTSIDE-OUTSIDE!
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Let your catcher call the game and it's a non issue...
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Well, not exactly. The runner on second has a great view of the catcher. Then they simply give hand signals to the batter. Happens all the time in college ball.
Stealing signals is NOT bush. But using signals and techniques that are so elementary that they can be stolen easily IS bush... Don't put your team at a disadvantage.
Stealing signals is NOT bush. But using signals and techniques that are so elementary that they can be stolen easily IS bush... Don't put your team at a disadvantage.
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stealing signs isn't bush - a coach yelling them out is.... it's just tacky.
More can be told by a pitchers hand than a catcher's sometimes too.
More can be told by a pitchers hand than a catcher's sometimes too.
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Anyone catch Alabama's catcher this weekend? She didn't hold a target, she sort of held it like a hockey goalie waiting for a shot off to the side and then pulled it into the strike zone and framed it when the pitch came.
never saw that before, but it worked for her...
never saw that before, but it worked for her...
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I saw part of that game and really enjoyed watching her catch.
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Stealing signs is part of the game of baseball why not softball? Signs should be complicated enough opposing team can not figure them out.
What is bush is a father sitting behind the backstop yelling out the location to the hitters as the catcher positions herself. This at 12U? This father needs to get a life other than living for the success of his DD's team. I know what my baseball coaches would have done. Find out what players father was doing it and send a message. Sending a message is more age appropriate for older levels. Not suggested for the younger youth.
What is bush is a father sitting behind the backstop yelling out the location to the hitters as the catcher positions herself. This at 12U? This father needs to get a life other than living for the success of his DD's team. I know what my baseball coaches would have done. Find out what players father was doing it and send a message. Sending a message is more age appropriate for older levels. Not suggested for the younger youth.
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I always get a kick out of this topic when it comes up - why get "mad"? It's a game.
If we are hiding our strategy and trying to trick the other side (the hitter), then why do we get upset when the other side tries to figure it out and counter? No big deal. But, I wouldn't be yelling it out in an at-bat, rather, I might watch the trends and coach my team based on what I have learned.
Nothing wrong with studying/stealing the 3rd base coach's signs right?
Why bother, most of the time the situations are somewhat obvious anyways.
If we are hiding our strategy and trying to trick the other side (the hitter), then why do we get upset when the other side tries to figure it out and counter? No big deal. But, I wouldn't be yelling it out in an at-bat, rather, I might watch the trends and coach my team based on what I have learned.
Nothing wrong with studying/stealing the 3rd base coach's signs right?
Why bother, most of the time the situations are somewhat obvious anyways.
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We had this exact thing happen this weekend at a 10U touney. The other teams coach was stealing our signs and then telling the batter out loud what was coming. I fixed this by telling the other coach he did not have to look at our signs I would just tell him what we are pitching. Of course we threw the opposite pitch, sometimes ;D.
we also gave multiple signs from 2 coaches altrnating the true sign to the pitcher.
we also gave multiple signs from 2 coaches altrnating the true sign to the pitcher.
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Anyone watch Mike Larabee coaching 3rd base? He's not too shy about helping his batters gain an advantage.
Take a hint as a coach - if another team is stealing your signs, devise a better system. At younger ages though, a parent sitting behind the backstop yelling things to "help" his daughter's team is nothing but a big embarassment - to himself, his DD and her team. Rarely does this help a 10 or 12 year old girl batting. If this parent were on a team of my DD's, I would seriously ask our coach to politely tell him to "put a damper on it".
This parental involvement usually goes away around 14u and up, especially on the top competitive teams. The parents either figure out that they are hurting their DD and her team with their antics, or they get banned from the better teams. A rule should be added to ALL softball rule books: Coaches coach; Parents spectate.
Take a hint as a coach - if another team is stealing your signs, devise a better system. At younger ages though, a parent sitting behind the backstop yelling things to "help" his daughter's team is nothing but a big embarassment - to himself, his DD and her team. Rarely does this help a 10 or 12 year old girl batting. If this parent were on a team of my DD's, I would seriously ask our coach to politely tell him to "put a damper on it".
This parental involvement usually goes away around 14u and up, especially on the top competitive teams. The parents either figure out that they are hurting their DD and her team with their antics, or they get banned from the better teams. A rule should be added to ALL softball rule books: Coaches coach; Parents spectate.
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it really didnt help much............still ended in a shut out!IceDawg said:
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IceDawg said:
I agree the coach picking the sign and relaying it to the team vocally sounds bush!
But is there ant difference if the players themselves pick the signs from the dugout then advise the batter. seen this when my kid was 10 playing in the Uncle Stans tourney. The opposing head coach had his teenage daughter calling pitches and she wasnt hiding the sign at all. The players picked up on it and were stealing the signs. Then the teams assistant coach came into our dugout and screamed at the kids. Then there was a screaming match between the head coach and this other coach.
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Now all of the screaming match is definitely bush league!!!!!
